For Gallia!
by KentaTC
Summary: In January, 1936 the Empire renewed its assault on Gallia. Pressed for manpower and with the remnants of Her Majesty's forces holding out near the Ruins of Girlandaio precious little can be spared to investigate rumor of an Imperial platoon in the Northern Mountains. Follow Klaire, commander of a humble Type 36 medium tank, and her crew as they pursue this dangerous new threat.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi everyone! First I apologize to those of you following A Certain Scientific Statistic. I lost my muse on that story after NaNo 2013 and haven't really gotten back to it since. Don't worry though! I've not abandoned it completely!

I recently purchased the Valkyria Chronicles PC port and I've gotta say that it was amazing. I watched the anime when it released back in 2008 and seeing the game that inspired it was really an interesting experience. Still, I was a bit miffed by how the Empire just gave up on the invasion. What with Girlandaio vaporized and the Gallian military almost destroyed the country was ripe for the picking.

So here's an AU. In VC2 Gallia sees peace for a couple years before undergoing a civil war. I've rewritten things a bit. The war with the Empire didn't end in October 1935 but continued after a short lull. Our protagonists, Army tank operators, will be showing us what happens in the second act of the war.

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><p>"Oh no, I think she saw us." I heard clearly the panicked whisper of Claise Knetzen which broke the silence hanging over the tank's interior. I glanced past my feet at the nervous tank driver, the blonde's eyes glued to the periscope which offered her the badly limited view any tank pilot grew accustomed to with time.<p>

"If she saw us we'd be vaporized already." I replied, returning my gaze to my own viewports. As Tank Commander I enjoyed a complete view of our surroundings, but I could hardly see a thing through the thick foliage surrounding us. It was a mixed blessing. We were almost entirely in the dark, but the forest also concealed our location.

"Nana, any luck on the radio?" I asked. Nana Colsworth muttered a few words under her breath, ordinarily inaudible over the rumble of the tank's engine but easily perceived in the current silence.

"No ma'am, everyone's quiet as the grave out there." I could all but feel the collective shiver which met with Nana's poor choice of words.

"Thank you, but next time please try not to inform us in a way which sounds terrifying." The girl gave a half-vocalized exhalation as apology and returned to the unassuming grey box which connected the tank to her allies.

"Comdi, she's gonna find us. What do we do?" Claise called out to me by my nickname, apparently an evolution of 'commandictator.' She was usually as stoic as a statue, but given the circumstances I could hardly blame her for her new-found worry. Yet even so she was still following orders and keeping the tank deactivated. I nudged her with a foot and continued my vigil on the surroundings.

"We're not equipped to handle this situation, and bugging out of this bush stand won't get us very far. For now we'll just keep our cool and listen for any updates." I said more calmly than I felt. The crew wasn't happy with hiding in the middle of the enemy where any wandering foot soldier could stumble upon us and shout out a warning.

"I've got something!" Nana shouted gleefully, only to be verbally pummeled by her crewmates' hushes. "High Com wants any surviving armor to make a fighting retreat. Priority targets are enemy armor and artillery."

"I wish our only enemies were armor and artillery." Reena Marques muttered from her spot behind the gun-sight to the tank's 75mm main gun. Even in the dim light of the tank's interior I could easily make out the bright auburn hair of the girl sitting below me and to my right.

"Okay, if that's the plan then we'll run with it." I said. "There's no telling what's changed out there in the past five minutes, but we're getting back behind our lines if it's the last thing this tank does. Artillery's gonna be a pain in the long run so they're our priority. Tanks in the way are next up followed by any other target of opportunity. Claise, start us up. It's time to move out."

The ragnite turbine spun to life, adding its voice to the chorus of 'Yes Comdi!'s which resonated through the tank. Almost as soon as the interior lights grew bright with renewed power a near-miss rattled the vehicle. I tapped Claise on her head with my foot and she pushed her dual throttles forward. The tank lurched out of the small collection of bushes surrounding it while I flew from viewport to viewport in an attempt to see everything at once.

Despite the short period of time which we had spent hidden there were already a great number of foot soldiers pushing through barren farm fields toward the Gallian fortifications ahead of us. I began calling out targets to Reena while Nana was relaying comments from fellow tank crews she felt were important.

Another near-miss kicked up dirt to my left, making me grateful once more for the metal skirts protecting the tank's otherwise vulnerable suspension from shrapnel and small-arms. A lancer paused in his steps and turned to face the Gallian tank rampaging around behind him.

"Reena, Lancer at eleven!" I called. The turret swung around as quickly as its electric motors could push it. Reena squeezed one of the multitude of buttons at her disposal and the coaxial machine gun barked to life. I had already begun searching for a new target as the Lancer was dragged behind cover by his squad mates.

I spotted her almost too late to react. I tapped Claise's right shoulder a smudge more than was totally necessary and shouted for Reena to bring the gun back around. Claise was likely mystified at why I was guiding her into what was likely an inescapable hole but she was a good tanker and the tank veered to the right. There was a moment's weightlessness as it fell into the hole followed by a sudden, disabling jolt which was greeted with shouts of pain and surprise from the crew.

A wall of blue light passed overhead so closely I could have touched it had their not been a hatch in my way. I could hear its passing even over the loud whirring of the Type 36's turbine. "Valkyria's back!" I shouted, though even Nana behind the radio could tell what had happened from the blue light which had momentarily flooded through the cabin's periscopes.

"We're not paid enough to fight that demon!"

"What I'd give for a Ragnide round or two."

"Valkyrias are bad for long term health."

The staggered replies from my crewmates would have been humorous had they not outlined how desperate the situation had just become. The fifty millimeters of armor plating standing between the crew and everything in front of the tank was all-but worthless against the incinerating beam which a Valkyria could project.

"Okay listen up." I called out. "I've already bribed the camp quartermaster into letting us into the bathhouse tonight and I'm not gonna let some human light-bulb stand in the way of me and clean hot water. We're gonna press forward and we won't stop until we hit Gallian fortifications." My half-speech was met with the fake jubilation which the Army's soldiers in peril were famous for being able to produce. Claise pushed the tank into a gallop almost before I could nudge her into doing so.

The tank's treads struggled to drag it out of the crater which had moments ago been its savior, but with a little bit of cajoling Claise managed to climb up and out of the earth. My eyes quickly found their target in the form of the human light-bulb who was even then blasting a Gallian tank out of existence.

"Reena, Valkyria at our four! Let's see if she can fire that beam while dealing with tank rounds!" I shouted, the redhead flashed me a grin before turning to the task at hand. I spent a few moments getting a picture of our surroundings while the turret swiveled to bear on the Valkyria.

She must have had some supernatural sense as the Valkyria turned her gaze upon us seconds before Reena fired an armor-piercing round directly at her chest. I watched in disbelief as the woman slashed the shell aside like an errant fly. We all heard the stories from veterans of the Naggiar Plains, but to see such power in person was still astounding to say the least.

"Oh crap, I think we only pissed her off!" Reena opened up with the machine gun and the Valkyria raised her shield almost dismissively to ward off the 7.92mm rounds flying at her. The auto-loader 'thunk'ed loudly as a new shell was chambered. Only a fraction of a second passed before Reena launched the new round at the Valkyria.

"I think we're keeping her hands full, don't give her a break Reena!" The gunner gave a grunt in affirmation but didn't take her eyes off her gun sight for a second. If the Valkyria could be kept from attacking the Gallians then the half-dozen remaining tanks of the battalion might yet make it to safety.

"High Com wants us to capture the Valkyria!" Nana shouted from her perch in the belly of the tank. I hesitated. Trying to capture that demon was suicide at best, and could easily lead to my crew's capture. We had heard stories of what Imperials did to their captured enemies, enough stories to know that dying in battle was infinitely better than living in enemy hands. I didn't know what High Command was thinking asking the same tank battalion which had just been demolished by the Valkyria to turn around and capture her, but I wasn't going to let whatever idiot was in command throw away the lives of my friends trying.

"Then High Com can come out and capture her themselves. Stay on course for the base Claise!" I shouted, aware of the treason in my orders. "Nana, put me through to the rest of the battalion. I've gotta warn them off this lunacy."

"No need ma'am, I've already put in our two cents." The diminutive girl smiled up at me. I was shocked. If she had followed my orders and let me warn the others then she could have claimed to be unaware of my intent and saved herself from the worst of the punishments for treason. It was touching to have her support.

I didn't have long to be pleased, however, as the Imperial armor which had spearheaded the initial attack was coming up in front of us. It was clear that only a scattering of them had radios, for while a few of the larger tanks were turning to meet the new threat springing up behind them the majority continued onward, blas_é_ly unaware of the threat to their exposed radiator panels. The situation was enough to make me sick. Here we were with a dozen fish in a barrel all lined up to have their rears shot into fiery death and Reena was too busy keeping the Valkyria occupied to take advantage of the opportunity.

Two heavy tanks completed their turns, one of them sighting in on me and my crew. I sucked in my breath and tapped twice on Claise's right shoulder. The tank dodged to the right while an Imperial shell went flying through the air just to our left. "Too close!" Claise called as she slammed her right throttle forward and the tank resumed its forward trek.

"Could you not do that?" Reena cried out in frustration. I could only guess the sudden move had thrown her aim off. A flash of blue light sliced toward us, but Reena had recovered and a new armor piercing round gave the Valkyria something else to deal with.

"Nana, who's in command of the battalion?" I asked. It had been Lieutenant Colonel Stanzen a short half-hour ago, but statistics did not favor his being one of the surviving tanks.

"It's Captain Miadel by seniority over Captain Vansburg. Miadel's been ordering everyone to turn and fight the Valkyria, but nobody's-"

"That's enough, ask Vansburg for support. Those heavies'll kill us otherwise." I'd just as soon add insubordination to the growing list of crimes I was committing if it meant we might get the survivors out of this mess. I was rewarded for my crimes moments later as two Gallian tanks to my left opened fire on the heavies.

Another Lancer poked his head out just ahead of us. I winced even before he fired the shell. The tank shuddered against the blow, and Claise let out a yelp of surprise, but the lance didn't pierce Orphan's frontal armor. Without a moment's pause I shoved the hatch open and climbed out of my protective cupola to empty my standard-issue Gallian's five round magazine at the Lancer. Two of the rounds clipped him and he ducked for cover. I dropped into my own cover as automatic fire lit up the hatch as I sealed it shut behind me.

A grazing shot from one of the heavies rocked us. I winced as I saw it's mortar flash. We'd entered mortar range, and we were going to feel it.

The first shot went far and wide, the second not so far and not so wide. Their accuracy was improving, and we were getting closer by the second. A flash lit up to my left as a Gallian medium tank exploded. Five tanks left, including Orphan, I counted to myself. Five Gallian medium tanks going up against two Imperial heavies was a stretch under the best of circumstances, and with Orphan effectively muzzled keeping the Valkyria from killing them all and the others still bickering as to which Captain they should follow the conditions were hardly ideal.

A short flash of blue light blazed a line of fire just to our left.

"She's starting to get better at blocking my shots!" Reena shouted. The late Winter weather was bitingly cold, and though the tank's engine kept them warm it still did not explain the sweat beading on Reena's forehead. I felt a cold sweat sweep over me as well, and I doubt I was alone in feeling the sudden chill.

"Okay, okay, we're only a few klicks out from the base. Once we get close we'll have fire support so just hang on for a couple more minutes." I kept my eyes pressed against the viewports but I'd done all I could do. My fate was in the hands of Nana, Claise, and Reena now. I just had to keep an eye out for any more surprises from the Imps.

I counted the seconds while we hurtled toward the base at Orphan's top speed of forty five kilometers per hour. Another Gallian tank exploded as a mortar round found its mark, and our own lurched twice as rounds struck far closer than I was comfortable with. A shell from the heavy's turret ricocheted off Orphan's sloped frontal armor and then we were past them.

Two of the other three surviving tanks tore into leading elements of the Imperial armor who were still unaware of the threat behind them, punching a hole for Orphan and her sisters to fly through. Reena sighed and fell back against her seat. The Valkyria had given up the chase.

We were safe, or as safe as any battlefield gets.

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><p>Next Chapter will be up November 29th<p>

I hope you guys enjoyed the intro! I'm a big sucker for starting off with a bang, and lucky for me this universe lends itself to starting, progressing, and finishing stories with successively larger bangs!

Please review with any questions, comments, or criticisms you've got!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hi guys! Here's the next chapter in For Gallia! To those of you wondering about Statistic, I AM still working on it. I'll probably get to posting new chapters over there in a few weeks.

But enough about that, I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

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><p>"Do you have any idea what your actions could have caused? Any at all? This sort of treasonous, cowardly insubordination has been unheard of in Gallian military history for decades!" Miadel, Vansburg, fellow tank commander Nicklas, and I stood at attention as the 3rd Armored Regiment commander - one Colonel Larsen - pushed the thirty minute mark lecturing us.<p>

"Sir, I tried to turn us arou-" Miadel attempted to make her case, but Larsen was most clearly not in the mood.

"You tried? You tried? You were acting commander of the battalion and all you have to say for yourself is that you tried? I was unaware that the army now allowed effort to be the sole basis of responsibility. Here I was under the presumption that we still cared about results!" I didn't much care for Captain Miadel, but even I winced at that.

"You're lucky I'm not going to hang the lot of you, because as much as I'd love to do just that the Gallian army is still very much in need of tankers! Captain Miadel, Captain Vansburg, as the most senior officers of Her Majesty's Army you are responsible for the actions of your subordinates. You are both hereby demoted to First Lieutenant.

"First Lieutenant Nicklas, you're also demoted to Second Lieutenant. Second Lieutenant Klaire, you're already at the bottom where Darksen's belong, but I'll straighten you out yet. As of today I am resetting your seniority. You're all dismissed!" I sighed mentally as we filed out of Larsen's office. I had been a Second Lieutenant for a long time and I had been passed over for promotion countless times. Just about the only thing I had going for me was my seniority over other Second Lieutenants, and now I didn't even have that.

Okay, so a couple of years wasn't really a long time but it was still two more years of seniority than I had now.

Only four of the almost fifty tanks with which the 3rd Tank Battalion started the battle remained. Orphan and the others had pushed through Imperial forces to reunite with allied Gallian forces and, despite being low on fuel and ammo, had taken up position and helped to fend off the Imperial assault on the temporary Gallian fort just past the remains of Ghirlandaio.

Though their assault had been broken, the Imperials had exacted heavy losses on the Gallian defenders. I could hardly fault Colonel Larsen's foul temper, even if I took exception to how he chose to waste half an hour chewing out his subordinates. It was night time when I trudged through the dirty snow which constituted a road in the camp. Despite the lack of apricity I did not stop to so much as warm up by a fire until I returned to Orphan and her tired crew.

Reena saw me first, which was hardly a surprise given her good eyesight and hawk-like personality.

"Comdi! Was he really drilling you guys all this time?" Reena called as I got closer, drawing the attentions of Claise and Nana. I grinned and nodded to the gunner who punched me in the arm and laughed. "I thought all the crappy senior officers were removed by the Princess three months ago! At least you kept your commission!" Reena said comfortingly, pointing to the patch in front of my right shoulder.

"Yea, I've still got the three spears of a Second Lieutenant, but only because there were senior officers with more who had behaved just as badly. It wouldn't look right if I lost my commission and they kept theirs." I replied, feeling guilty at the damage I'd wrought on their careers. They might never recover from the stigma of their demotions.

"I wouldn't care if you were a Private, as long as you're commanding Orphan then I'll be your radio operator!" Nana added, walking over to meet me. I couldn't help but grin at that.

"It'd look pretty strange for a tank commander to be taking orders from her radioman." I replied.

"Yea, and then maybe I could kick you for a change!" Claise joined us and completed the circle of people, rubbing her shoulders in mock pain from the jabs I'd sent her way during the battle.

"It's a lifetime too early for you to be throwing kicks at me." I warned mockingly, drawing a petulant frown from the tank driver. "How does she look?" I asked Nana, who doubled as our mechanic. We were all competent at performing routine maintenance. We had to be given how much work was required to keep a tank running, but Nana was definitely the leader when it came to more serious repairs.

"There's no critical damage. Thanks to the side-skirts our suspension didn't take any damage from mortar shrapnel, and two bounced shots dug channels through the front armor but didn't pierce it. There's a lot of small-arms markings around your cupola but nothing which you should worry about. Also, Reena managed to burn through almost our entire seven ninety-two supply as well as the better part of our main gun's armor-piercing magazine." Nana listed, holding up fingers as she did so. "I think we should replace the front armor to be safe, and really clean out the suspension while we're at it. Then we should do our usual post-battle maintenance." I nodded.

"I think we might have a little rest until our battalion is folded into the First Tank, but replacing the front might be too much. We'll keep it on for now, but we can remove the skirts and clean out the suspension." I could tell Nana wasn't pleased with my decision to keep the damaged plate, but I didn't want to be caught with Orphan's pants down if Larsen wanted us to move. We'd probably be kicked out of the army.

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><p>"Second Lieutenant Klaire!" I paused mid-word in my conversation with the battalion quartermaster as a young boy, too young even to have use for a razor, came running down the path. He would have run right past me had I not stopped him.<p>

"I'm Klaire, what do you need?" I asked the boy, holding him upright by his shoulders as he recovered his breath. He began to salute me awkwardly within the confines of my hold on him, then seemed to think the better of it and reached into a satchel at his side.

"I'm- I'm Bentley, ma'am. I have orders from Commodore - er, Colonel-"

"It's alright, I know who they're from." I said, hoping to alleviate the boy. Sure that he was in no danger of falling I released him and held out a hand. "I'll make sure to read them right away." Bentley sheepishly deposited a pale envelope on my palm before saluting in full and running off to deliver his next message.

"At least he's not on the front lines." Debine, 3rd Tank Battalion quartermaster said drearily. She was old enough to be my mother and then some, and having her battalion all but annihilated hadn't help her constitution in the slightest.

"We've been at war for almost a year now," I replied. "After Ghirlandio and the loss of our main army, combined with the Marmota Assault, I'd say we're doing well if there are still people who aren't on the front lines." Debine laughed, though it was strained.

"You have an interesting way of looking at things my dear. I'd share that sentiment, but I'm afraid things are going to get much worse before this war finally ends." Debine said somberly. I would have replied, except that I knew she was right. It had looked as if the war was over in October some four months before, but just one month ago the Empire renewed it's assault on Gallia in a bid for her invaluable Ragnite deposits.

I nodded to the quartermaster. "I'm going to return to my crew. They'll be happy to hear that you'll be filling in for the First Tank Battalion." With that I turned and headed back for the mostly empty campground which was formerly the site of the 3rd Tank Battalion.

I cut the letter open with a deft finger and read my new orders as I walked down empty mud walkways. I had only just gotten to the bottom of the paper when Claise shouted out to me.

"Comdi! We've been waiting for you!" The tank driver waved at me from our campsite. She was as buxom as a tank driver could be without it interfering with her driving, and her uniform could barely contain the girl beneath. It was almost funny seeing such a figure behave like a small child whose mother had just returned home.

"Yes, and with our new orders no less!" I shouted back. That got the attention of Nana and Reena, who stopped setting the small table we used for eating to rush at me. "Woa, everyone stay back! I'll go over them at the table. Now let's eat before all the food freezes solid."

The table was strategically located in a stolen tent near our lone fire, and there was no real risk of the food freezing in such a warm environment. Still, we ate with gusto and stopped to talk only once our plates were clean.

"Well, now that we're full I'll go over our orders." I said, leaning back into the somewhat uncomfortable camp chair. It too had been stolen from some camp or another in the past few months by the crew of Orphan, much to the displeasure of whatever poor squad they'd stolen it from. "I've been informed that a small Imperial ship slipped past our navy and has dropped a platoon onto the shores West of Tescholberg. The local town watch reported seeing them pass into the mountains. We're being attached to Militia Squad 131 for this operation."

"They're sending one lousy militia squad to fight an entire Imperial platoon?" Reena asked in disbelief.

"Hey! The militia are fighting just as hard as we are!" Claise shouted, Reena recoiled in surprise.

"I think she meant that a squad is much smaller than a platoon. Militia or Army, any squad would have to be very lucky to take out an Imperial platoon all by itself." I interjected, nipping the possible confrontation in the bud. Reena had barely survived the destruction of her previous tank when militia reinforcements had been bogged down, leaving her surrounded whereas Claise - a Bhrul native - had been saved by the actions of the Militia during the opening moves of the 1935 Invasion of Gallia. They had opposing views on the militia's potency as a result.

"Yeah, but a militia squad in particu-"

"We will be under the command of their squad leader, First Lieutenant Aric Faldin. We're tasked with finding and following the platoon, striking at it only if the opportunity presents itself or determine that the platoon is jeopardizing our operations elsewhere."

"What about the Valkyria?" Nana asked. "She could attack this fort any day. They'll need everyone who fought her."

"I've already been debriefed and I let them know how we occupied her. The Valkyria Selvaria may have done a lot of damage in the past, but mostly because we were surprised by her. This time we were surprised as well and it cost us, but a well-prepared force can fend off a Valkyria or two." I said, paraphrasing the words of the officer in charge of my debrief. "Probably"

"Probably?" Reena asked.

"Well, we did alright against her ourselves and that was pretty much one tank versus a Valkyria."

"Two tanks, one of the others chipped in." Reena amended.

"Two tanks, but even then the fort has dozens, and fixed gun emplacements to boot. Not to mention they have tank destroyers, anti-tank guns, and machine gunners. I wouldn't worry too much about the fort. We have enough to worry about as it is." I said, reminding everyone of our new mission. "Finding that platoon will be tough, and shadowing it while not being spotted promises to be even harder.

"Nana, draw up a list of spare-parts and supplies you think we might need for two months of independent operation. Claise I need you to find us a tank-carrier, probably one of the old Third Tank light carriers, and convince whoever has it to give it to us. Reena, start striking the camp and getting everything stowed onto the tank. And if it's a pillow or a blanket then it goes inside. I'm starting to think we need to do some interior decorating if we'll be crammed inside for the next couple of months. I'm going back to Debine to requisition food supplies. Any questions?"

"Yeah, could you not get the spam-" Claise began.

"Yes, I'll avoid spam, spinach, and anything with onions." I said. Claise grinned.

"Thanks!" And with that we were off to see to our tasks.

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><p><strong>Next Chapter will be up December 7th<strong>

To those of you wondering where Tescholberg is, it's located on the Northern coast of Gallia quite near the Gallia/Empire border.

**doncaster:** Glad you liked the opening! I was worried that people might get confused by meeting 4 characters at once, so I paid particular attention to them. It sounds like things worked out! Anyway, I'd already written this chapter by the time you reviewed, but I think it answers a lot of the questions you have anyway so cheers to that!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi everyone! I spent a lot of time writing, editing, re-writing, and then re-editing this chapter but I'm still not quite 100% happy with it :(. But I want to be on with the story so it's getting posted anyway! (Also today's my self-imposed deadline and what kind of person would I be if I didn't even meet my own deadlines?)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter in For Gallia, and that you're somewhere warm with a nice cup of hot chocolate (or other beverage of choice)!

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><p>"You must be our new tank commander, Second Lieutenant Klaire." The man was tall, a whole head taller than Comdi's not inconsiderable height. I turned to Claise, who was herself gawking at our new squad's commander.<p>

"He'd make a good scout, eh?" I asked jokingly. "I'd like to see him and Nana back-to-back." Nana was the shortest of us, measuring in at a meager 155 cm. The ordinarily cramped radio operator's position was downright roomy for the petite grey-haired girl.

"Shush, we're supposed to be listening." Claise reprimanded me with the petulant frown that so often got her accused of being a child in an adult's body.

"Yes, we're happy to be here." Comdi said, idly brushing her long dark-blue hair out of her eyes. "Like you said I'm Klaire. This is our driver, Claise Knetzen. Then there's our gunner, Reena Marques. Last but not least this is our radio operator, Nana Colsworth." Comdi's introduced us, pointing to each of us in turn.

"It's good to have you all. We militia don't usually have armor attaché's so it'll be nice to have some heavy firepower for a change." I remember Comdi saying his name was... Aric Faldin. A girl, dark-skinned with black hair and a strong physique, punched Faldin in the shoulder somewhat roughly.

"Here I thought my lance was all the heavy firepower you needed!" She was an anti-tank lancer, then. Lancers and I didn't get along too well. Lancers and most tankers didn't get along too well. Faldin rubbed his shoulder in only partly faked pain.

"Of course, of course! We've never been in a pinch that Ferina here couldn't blast us out of. She's the squad's lancer and hiding behind her is our combat medic Kate." The medic was as timid as a wild squirrel and almost as small. She carried a huge box of medical supplies and ragnaid in a backpack which was almost as large as the girl herself.

"I'm sure you'll get to know the others over time, and I don't want to waste your time with lengthy introductions. With you four the squad is up to eleven in all. It'll be pretty noisy around here." Faldin was an optimistic sort of individual. Militia folk normally were. Comdi would be upset if I started picking fights only seconds after I was introduced, but if one of those half-trained squadies made trouble for Orphan's crew then we'd have words.

"We're under orders to find an Imp platoon North of here, so we'll get moving as soon as you're ready to go." Faldin said. I glanced back at Orphan, sitting atop the blue tank carrier amidst a pile of spare running wheels and other supplies. It wasn't the most organized collection and the poor carrier was probably at its limit under the load but we were as ready as ever.

"Let's not delay then," Comdi replied. "Orphan and her crew are ready to move."

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><p>Even through the suspension of the tank carrier plus the tank's own, the rough road was ridiculously uncomfortable. Every pothole and wayward stone jolted me just as I was about to fall asleep. I had tried liberally coating the gunner's station with blankets and pillows and while they kept me warm the jarring ride had been impossible to sleep through.<p>

"Claise, drive better." I murmured, not expecting the girl to respond. She was in the truck cab driving the carrier after all. I gave up my attempt at sleep. Nana was shivering in her own seat, though she was very much unconscious. I tossed some of my blankets down on her before pushing myself up into Comdi's spot.

I hesitated for a moment before throwing the hatch open. Wrapping a blanket around the hole I managed to keep the majority of cold air from passing down below while I poked my head up and out of the cupola. As I feared it was just getting dark and the snow made seeing further than the front of the truck all but impossible, but the worst part was the cold.

It was _very_ cold.

"Enjoying the weather?" A man asked from below me. His heavy machine gun lay strapped at his back while an accompanying ammo box sat next to him on the edge of the tank carrier's flattop. I rolled my eyes.

"Not as much as you're enjoying the seat." I replied testily, pointing at the army logo on the side of the carrier.

"Claise warned us that you might be a little upset at militia involvement, but you can hardly blame me for wanting to take a rest from lugging this thing through the snow." He said smoothly, hefting the gun. "It's cold, and I don't have a tank to protect me from the wind." The man flashed me a grin. "Though I bet it can get pretty cold in there, what with nothing but metal for insulation! Anyway, the name's Regalliar, but unfortunately everyone calls me Regal. Hardly the kingly sort if you ask me but changing the nickname's a fool's errand. What about you?"

"I'm Reena, driver." I replied, "and if you already know how I feel then it shouldn't be a surprise that I don't like you or your squad. Militia may want to help Gallia but I'm not gonna rely on a bunch of kids whose training consists of a short refresher course. Depending on you guys will get me and my friends killed." I stated, glaring at him the whole time to really drive the point home. Regal seemed immune to both the wintery cold weather and the ice in my words when he replied with that easy smile still on his face.

"She also told us you'd warm up eventually. Don't worry Reenee, we won't give up on you!" With a heave he slid off the carrier with ammo in tow. I tried to get a reply out but my tongue was tied.

"I'm not Reenee!" I eventually managed, but he was already too far away to hear. My headphones crackled to life just as I was retreating back into the tank.

"Reena," Comdi's voice broke through the white noise her radio made. "The scout, Lindy, just got back with word of the enemy platoon. Looks like Aric was right when he said they'd have to go through this valley. Wake up Nana and start prepping the tank. Claise and I are going to take a look along with Aric." I frowned, _and not bring me?_ I thought to myself. I was hardly going to let my commander go gallivanting off with nothing but a bunch of militia for protection.

"I can come with! I've got better eyes than anyone and Claise doesn't like the cold!" There was silence over the channel while Comdi mulled the idea over.

"Okay, that's probably a better idea anyway. A tank without a driver won't get far in the event of a rescue attempt. Dress up warm before you come outside." Comdi replied. I could just barely make out Claise's sigh of relief.

"Yes ma'am!" I tossed a pillow down at the sleeping radio operator before sorting through my pile of blankets for my blue wool coat and gloves. I tied my hair back into twin balls with ease earned after much practice and, after making sure Nana was waking up, climbed up and out of the tank.

Gallian winters were usually rather mild with lots of snow but relatively warm temperatures. I had decided that winters in the Northern Mountains were another matter entirely. Just making my way to the truck cabin was difficult and by the time I'd pushed Comdi into the middle seat to take shelter I'd begun to question my decision to come with.

"I've got another jacket that might fit you if you want it." Claise offered as I placed my hands on the warm dashboard. Forgoing words I simply shook my head, afraid that the chattering of my teeth would prompt Comdi into rethinking her choice in allowing me to tag along.

"You know, you don't need to come with-"

"I'm coming!" I cut Comdi off. "I don't trust some militia scout to find anything in this sort of weather and if you get ambushed by Imps out there then we won't have anyone to complain about." I crossed my arms, in part to look stubborn but mostly to warm up my hands. Comdi shrugged but said nothing.

The truck came to a halt as Claise pumped the breaks, having decided against running into the canvas-topped truck which had itself stopped just ahead. Faldin hopped out of the front followed by a girl I hadn't met carrying a Gallian rifle. A scout if I'd ever seen one.

"Looks like this is our stop." Comdi said with a smile. I grimaced and reluctantly opened the cabin door.

It was _still_ cold outside.

Comdi slid out behind me and shut the door just as Claise was beginning to complain about us letting the heat out. We followed Faldin and the scout, who could be none other than Lindy, and made our way up a wooded hill to the caravan's left. The barren trees didn't offer much in the way of protection from the wind, but I was grateful for what little they did nonetheless.

"Tell them what you saw." Faldin said without prelude. The girl nodded and drew in a breath.

"It was tough to make out in this snow, but there was definitely a fire out there. I only saw it for a second so they've probably built it low." She said. "I must have been pretty close to have seen it, but I don't think I was spotted coming back."

"Good," Faldin said. "Let's go take a look at where you saw their camp. We'll have a better idea of what we're dealing with from where they've camped and how they've laid the camp out." Nobody was inclined to argue with him, so we followed after Lindy as she began leading us back from where she had come.

The snow was a mixed blessing. On one hand it made seeing all but impossible. On the other it also covered our tracks and while I didn't know much about tracking I knew it would be a bad thing if an entire Imp platoon came riding down our backsides.

That was poor comfort for those of us forced to trudge through knee-deep snow, hiding vainly from the freezing snow-filled winds. I lost count of how many times I'd stumbled into Comdi or a tree, or Comdi and a tree (as she was as prone to running into trees as I was). It was the sort of battle which knew no victory. No matter how many steps we took, or how tightly we drew our hoods, the wind still howled through coats and leather to drive bone-deep inside of us.

We walked for what seemed like forever, but Comdi's pocket watch insisted we'd only been suffering through the cold wind for a little under half an hour when Lindy held up a hand and we all froze, some of us more literally than others. I squinted through the snowy gale and could just barely make out the silhouette of a tent pressed against a rocky outcropping. Behind it were more shapes which I suspected were tents as well, but the distance made being sure impossible.

"Their camp is twenty meters ahead of us." Lindy whispered. I doubted she needed to lower her voice thanks to the storm, but I couldn't blame her for being cautious. We were _awfully_ close.

"I don't see anyone on watch." Faldin observed. He appeared to be as immune to the cold as that insufferable machine-gunner Regal, standing almost nonchalantly facing the camp.

"They wouldn't be all that useful." Lindy replied, tone still hushed. "In this cold and with visibility like it is they have little reason to post a watch. Far better to simply let everyone warm up in preparation for tomorrow. I can make out maybe five or six tents, so about a dozen Imps that I can see." Faldin nodded and led us a little ways away from the camp.

"What do you think Klaire?" Faldin asked. Comdi glanced briefly at me before answering.

"We took the roads to get here, meaning our tank got to rest on a truck bed for the whole voyage. This mountain pass doesn't appear to have paved road any further North than where we left our convoy, so they couldn't have brought trucks with them. They'd have to drive their tanks the whole time." Comdi said. She had her arms crossed for warmth but otherwise projected the same sort of disregard for the weather as Faldin.

"What does that mean to us?" Faldin asked. I sighed. Any tanker would know what the lack of roads and trucks would imply, and most army soldiers would as well.

"Tanks are surprisingly rather fragile." Comdi started. "Drive ten of them for a couple hundred klicks without maintenance and only eight or nine will still be moving in the end, less if the crews weren't being diligent to begin with. Tanks need a steady supply of spare parts and fuel just to move. They might have one - maybe two tanks with them, but no more."

"That's good," Faldin noted. We had continued hiking away from the Imperial camp, and I was all the more glad for it. Being so blind yet so near to the enemy was nerve-racking to say the least. "If they don't have much armor then we could ambush them, use surprise to level the playing field." Comdi shook her head.

"Unlikely. I don't know what sort of tank, or tanks, they brought. I'm guessing Mediums, but if it's a Heavy tank then Orphan's not gonna be able to do more than rattle the thing. Besides, even with the element of surprise I think we'd have a tough time fighting thirty or so Imps with armor support." Comdi's words weren't comforting, but it was important that Faldin knew the limitations of Orphan. No one besides the Imps would be too happy if he overestimated the tank.

"Bet I could put a hole in a heavy tank." I said. "Right through that stupid crane thing." Lindy chuckled and I could tell Comdi was struggling to restrain herself as well.

"I don't think knocking the crane off would necessarily constitute putting a hole in a heavy tank." Comdi stated, raining on my parade as per the usual. "Reena does have a point though. Even if it's a heavy there are ways Orphan can beat it. Risky ways, but we could make it work if needed."

"That might be good, because I think I just heard an engine start up." Lindy could have been talking about the weather, the abysmal weather, for all the variation in her tone. We almost didn't realize she was serious until the faint rumble of a ragnite combustion engine broke through a temporary lull in the storm.

As one we began running back to the convoy as quickly as the snow would allow. In other words, way too slowly.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter will be up on December 21st<strong>


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